Wagyu retail price in Japan FY 2018-2022, by cuts

In the fiscal year 2022, the average retail price of sirloin cuts from domestically produced wagyu beef in Japan stood at 1,327 Japanese yen per 100 grams. Wagyu refers to four cattle breeds — Japanese Black, Japanese Polled, Japanese Brown, and Japanese Shorthorn — originating from crossbreeding native cattle with foreign stock. While Japanese wagyu had the highest average retail prices among the main meat types eaten in Japan, beef in general showed the lowest per capita consumption volume due to the prevalence of pork and poultry in the domestic meat market.

The crown jewel of Japanese beef

Beef in Japan is graded from A to C and 1 to 5, influenced by the breeding method, yield, fat marbling, and quality. The meat of wagyu breeds is considered of the highest quality and achieves at least 1.5 times the average retail price of crossbred beef, with prices increasing even further depending on the grading and the primal cut. A5 beef, referring to meat from pureblood Japanese cattle carcasses with a high yield and quality, is known for its characteristic fine fat marbling in the muscle meat.

Cattle in Japanese agriculture

While cattle were solely used as work animals in the past, the introduction of meat to Japanese dietary habits raised the demand for beef cattle in the agricultural sector. In 2021, the beef cattle population exceeded two million, dominated by the Japanese Black breed. However, the meat market is dependent on imports to satisfy the demand, as the self-sufficiency rate of beef continues to fall amid a declining number of farming households.